Annie and the Benjamins
by Benjamin Linus
Summary: After the Oceanic Six get off the island, Ben must go to visit someone he hasn't seen for thirteen years, and a smaller someone he's never seen. Ben/Annie.
1. Chapter 1

This is a plot bunny that's burrowed itself into my brain. So here's the deal: Annie left the island in 1992, (before the purge). All the island stuff is taken care (like the Oceanic Six are all famous now and stuff). Please give me feedback so I can decide whether to continue or not.

Annie walked to the door, as if it was perfectly common for her to open the door at eleven pm, and in her pajamas no less. But she knew who it was. She had been expecting for thirteen years. And she was glad to see him.

"Ben!" She cried as she threw her arms around him. Ben pulled the door shut as he stepped into the large house.

"Annie," He said softly, looking into her eyes.

They hadn't talked face-to-face for thirteen years.

Ben removed his shoes and set them by the door, next to a pair of sneakers that looked to small to belong to Annie. The two lovers walked to the couch. Annie sat down.

Ben looked around. The walls had framed pictures of a boy on them. A boy with blue eyes. A boy with brown hair that stuck up in all directions. The photos were clearly candid. In one photo, the boy was reading. In another, the boy was holding a rabbit.

"He reminds me of you every second. They way he does everything." She paused. "I didn't tell him."

"Good," Ben replied, sounding distant. A tear ran down his cheek.

Annie got up from the couch and walked to Ben. She took his hand in hers. The two walked back to the couch.

"He's perfect. Very smart. I always feel like he's ten steps ahead. Very much like someone else I know." She smiled at Ben. "I have a good feeling about the two of you."

"I hope so," he replied.

Annie yawned. "C'mon, let's go upstairs."

Ben grabbed the duffel bag he had brought along. They walked up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Ben kissed her.

"I was hoping you wouldn't forget to do that," She said, giggling.

"How could I?" Ben said, and was distracted by a door. There was a sign on the door reading, "Benji's Room. Please knock."

"Because you could be my only Ben," Annie said. "Do you want to see him?"

"Of course," Ben replied.

Annie turned the knob, and pushed the door open. However, instead of sleeping, the boy from the pictures was sitting up in bed, reading. He looked at his father.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie sighed. She should have had suspected he'd still be up, reading. He read more in a month than most people do in a lifetime, just like his father. Why couldn't he have been fast asleep when they had walked in? He looked so innocent, so cute, when he was asleep.

Ben looked at the boy in the bed. He was wearing glasses, round wire-rimmed ones. Piercing blue eyes, brown hair sticking up…Ben didn't know what to do. He wanted to cry, he wanted to run over and hug the boy, he wanted to tell him everything. Ben wasn't sure of how the boy felt about his father whom he had never before seen showing up without being told. Would he be happy? Happy that a man with whom he probably had so much in common, so much to discuss with? Or would he hate the man who had never been there for him?

Benji himself wasn't sure how to feel. Benji was smart; he knew this man was his father just by looking at him. This was the man who his mother talked about spending long days at the beach with as teenagers, just talking with as kids. His mother always said she did most of the talking; his father was very quiet. Benji had always liked stories about his father, they never bored him. Benji's strategy was to ask for the same story many times. Each time, he'd gather more and more details. His father was just how he'd pictured him. He had blue eyes, brown hair, and wore khakis and a striped shirt.

There was silence. As much as she wanted to see how things played out and didn't want to leave, Annie felt she had to in order for the father and son to speak. She took one last look at Benji, still staring at his father, before she left. She walked to her bedroom. She had always wondered what her two favorite people in the world meeting would be like.

Ben took a deep breath, preparing to say something, but not sure what.

"Hi dad," Benji said quietly.

Ben walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Hello Benji," Ben said, feeling his eyes tear up. Tears were already streaming down Benji's face.

Ben put his arms around Benji. It felt so nice, Benji's-his son's- head right under his chin.

With guilt, he thought of Alex. She wasn't his, was never really his, but he still missed her. He had raised her. He had read her bedtime stories, had made her birthday cakes, had comforted her whenever a caterpillar she had put in a jar died, had even thought about talking about sex with her when she turned thirteen (Juliet had interrogated her; it turned out Alex knew everything), hell, he had even made breakfast for her imaginary friends up until she was eight.

But hugging Benji felt better than hugging Alex ever had. And up until she was twelve, that had been the highlight of his day.

What really struck him though, was that even though he had never met his son before, Benji still loved him.

When Annie walked in after giving them almost a half-hour together, she found Benji asleep, with his father next to him. She thought about waking Ben up and bringing him into her room, but decided to let him be. She walked over and took off Benji's glasses, and kissed Ben. She wondered what the two of them would be like around each other in the morning.

Ben woke up at four. He briefly considered getting up and going to Annie's room, but fell asleep before he could finish his thought.

The next time he woke up was at seven. Benji's pet bunny was in his cage, noisily drinking from a water bottle. Summer sun shone through the windows. Benji was still asleep. Ben sat up and stroked Benji's hair. By his count, he was already a better father to this boy than his father was to him. After all, his father certainly didn't love him at all. Ben, however, already loved Benji. Ben kissed Benji on the cheek.

He got up, planning on taking a shower. He walked into Annie's room. She was sleeping. Ben kissed her, then went through his duffel bag, searching for clothes.

"Ben," Annie said sleepily, "come over here."

Ben walked over to Annie. She put her hands around his neck and pulled him onto the bed. "Your breath is great in the morning," Annie murmured between kisses.

"Yours is too," Ben said.

They fell back asleep.

When still-not-showered Ben and Annie walked into the kitchen at nine, Benji was sitting at the round table, eating cereal, also in his pajamas.

"Morning, Benji," Annie greeted cheerily.

Ben sat down next to Benji. He hadn't had a real conversation with him yet. He had no idea what to say. Annie passed him a cereal bowl. Ben looked at the cereal in Benji's bowl, then found the box it came from and poured himself a bowlful.

"Milk?" Annie asked. "Oh, wait, I guess I forgot."

Ben had never liked milk on his cereal. In the hatch, it was different. He was trying new things-Stephen King, as well as milk on his cereal.

Annie brought a spoonful of milk-covered cereal to her mouth. "You two are so odd." Ben looked at Benji's bowl to see that his cereal was dry as well.

Just then, the phone rang. Annie picked it up. "It's my publisher. This might take a while." Annie picked up her cereal bowl and walked towards her study.

Annie was a writer. As a kid, she would tell Ben how that was the one thing she wanted to do when she grew up. Well, that and she wanted five kids, lots of puppies, and an unlimited supply of candy.

Ben and his son ate in silence.

"What's your rabbit's name?" Ben asked, finally, to break the ice.

"Frank. Like in _Donnie Darko_." Sensing his father didn't know what it was, Benji clarified. "_Donnie Darko _is a movie about a teenager... You know, we should just watch it. It's my favorite movie, and it's very tough to describe. Anyway, Frank is this guy dressed up in a rabbit costume who tells Donnie that the world is going to end in twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes, and twelve seconds."

Ben smiled. He had been invited to watch a movie with his son. _Donnie Darko_ even sounded interesting. This was most definitely progress.

Ben watched his twelve-year-old son eat the rest of his cereal. "I'm going to go get dressed," Benji said.

"Okay. I'll go shower. When do you want to watch the movie?" Ben asked.

"How about tonight?"

"Sounds good," Ben said, smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben took his shower. Annie's shower had excellent pressure. Very few people really appreciate showers, especially ones with good pressure. Ben Linus was one of those few. He stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Ben put on his fresh khakis and buttoned his clean blue striped shirts. Clean clothes were another thing Benjamin Linus appreciated greatly.

He walked into Annie's room to drop his clothes in her laundry hamper. Annie walked in behind him. "Hey." She kissed him. "I'm going grocery shopping now. Are you okay staying with Benji?"

"Sure."

Annie hoped some time alone might get the two of them talking. She knew it was tough to get Benji talking; he was almost as quiet as his father was at age twelve. Some days Annie had found it difficult to get even two words out of Ben, and he had talked more with Annie than anyone else back then.

Annie went to find her son.

"Benji?" She asked, opening the door of his room. Benji was lying down on his bed, wearing khaki shorts and a black t-shirt, and reading a small paperback book. Frank the rabbit sat next to him, nibbling a carrot.

"Yes?" He asked, his bespectacled blue eyes peering at her from over the top of his book.

"I'm going to the grocery store soon and I wanted to make sure you were okay staying here with your father."

Benji nodded.

"Okay, I'll be back in an hour."

After Annie left, Ben wasn't sure of what to do. He almost always had something that needed doing. Today he had nothing. He walked past Benji's room, where Benji was reading. Ben never liked being interrupted while he was reading, so he just walked by.

Ben wondered if this was the right move. Maybe Benji felt ignored by Ben just walking by. If Benji wanted his father, would he come and talk to him, or wait for his father to come to him? Ben decided to take a chance.

Ben walked back to Benji's room and stood at the doorway. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," Benji replied, looking up at his father.

"What book are you reading?" Ben asked.

"_The Perks of being a Wallflower_." Benji paused. His father probably wanted to do something with him, and Benji knew just what to suggest. "I was just about to clean Frank's cage. If you want to help, I'd be more than happy to let you."

Ben smiled at him. "Trying to hand off all your work to me?" He joked.

Benji smiled back.

When Annie got back an hour later, she saw her plan had worked. Ben and Benji were sitting in the living room, with Frank hopping around on the floor. She brought in the bags full of groceries and set them on the table, smiling.

At dinner that night, you would've thought that they were a family that had lived with each other their whole lives. The kind of family that doesn't fight, though.

After dessert, which was lemon bars that Annie had made that afternoon, the small family sat down in the living room to watch _Donnie Darko_, Annie on one side, Ben on the other, Benji in the middle. After the first five minutes, Annie decided she needed popcorn, and returned three minutes later with a bowl full.

"Popcorn?" She asked Ben, as he was so fixated on the movie that the smell didn't get his attention.

"Mom, shhhh! He's never seen it before!" Benji scolded his mother. Ben smiled, thinking of all the times Annie had probably seen this movie.

About an hour through, Benji was struggling to stay awake. He gave into his battle of consciousness. He fell asleep, leaning against his father.

"He looks so cute, so innocent when he's asleep. Kind of like you," Annie said at the end of the movie.

"Should we wake him up?"

"I bet you could carry him up," Annie said. "He's pretty light."

So Ben picked up Benji, and carried him upstairs, followed by Annie. Luckily, Benji was already in pajamas, so Ben just lay him on the bed, and pulled the blankets over him.

Ben took Benji's glasses off and set them on his bedside table.

"Goodnight, Benji," He said.

Annie smiled at him from the doorway. "Come on. Let's go back downstairs," She said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Mom?" A soft voice cried out. As a second thought, it added, "Dad?"

It was one o'clock in the morning. Ben and Annie were still awake, as they had just gone up to bed. Since Benji's room was across the hall, the heard him easily. The two parents jumped out bed and walked quickly into Benji's room.

"What's wrong?" Annie asked.

"He's warm," said Ben, his hand on Benji's forehead.

"I'll go get the thermometer," Annie said.

"My ears hurt, and my throat hurts, and my head…" Benji's voice wavered. "And I feel really, really warm."

Annie came back with a thermometer, the kind you stick in your ear, not the kind that makes your tongue hurt. She stuck the thermometer in Benji's ear. He winced. It only took a few seconds before it beeped.

"One hundred three point four. Aw, poor baby," Annie said. "Well, how about you come downstairs to the couch, then we can get you some juice and medicine. Tomorrow morning I'll call and see if I can get you a doctor appointment." In their household the living room was always the central sick area, mainly because of the TV.

Benji slowly got out of bed and put his feet in his slippers. Ben grabbed Benji's pillow, and the three of them made their way downstairs to the living room.

Benji lay down on the sofa, while Annie got him a cup of juice. Ben went back upstairs, and quickly returned with a wet washcloth and an assortment of medicine.

"Liquid or pills?" Ben asked, smoothing the cold washcloth over Benji's forehead.

"Pills," Benji replied. Ben studied a box, then handed Benji two small orange capsules, which Benji washed down with a mouthful of juice.

Annie yawned. "You should go up to bed. Don't worry, I'll stay with Benji. You go get some sleep so you can take him to the doctor tomorrow," Ben urged Annie.

"Okay, you're right." Annie kissed Ben goodnight. "Nighty night, Benji, my little sick bunny," She said, kissing the top of his head.

Next chapter: Ben tells Benji his life story. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

I forgot to mention this before, but I don't own Lost. That's a no-brainer. Reviews make me all happy inside!

"Dad?" Benji asked, after Annie had gone upstairs.

"Yes?"

"Can you, um, tell me about…uhh…you?" Benji paused. "I mean, I barely knew enough really to identify you. Mom never really told me a lot, so…" Benji trailed off.

"Okay," Ben said softly. It was a reasonable request.

Where to start? The moment of his birth, or meeting Annie? What to put in, what to leave out?

He took a deep breath and looked at Benji, who was sprawled out so that his feet were next to Ben, who sat at the opposite end of the couch from Benji's head.

"My parents, your grandparents, went for a hike. They lived in Portland, and it was one of their hobbies. My mother was seven months pregnant." He took another deep breath. "It doesn't seem that intelligent to take your seven month pregnant wife hiking, alone, with nobody around, does it?" He paused. "My mother went into labor by the side of the highway."

Benji shifted his position so that his head lay in his father's lap.

"My father yelled by the side of the road, and a car stopped. The man driving that car was Horace Goodspeed. My mother died right then, in that car, right after telling my father to name me Benjamin.

"So I grew up with my dad in suburban Portland. I went to public school. My dad worked a lot; he had to, his jobs didn't pay much. He never went to college and barely graduated high school.

"I was quiet. The kids at school thought I was stupid. Sometimes they'd beat me up. I learned how to take a punch, however, so there was a bright side," Ben said sarcastically.

"My dad got laid off, and had a tough time finding work. However, around that time he was contacted by Horace Goodspeed, who was looking for workers to join the Dharma Initiative, which was some kind of utopian community for scientists to live and work at. It was located on an island.

"My dad accepted the job. We boarded a submarine and left for the island. That submarine ride was the worst. I had no idea where I was going, no idea of what was going to happen, and I felt incredibly nauseous.

"I met Horace when we got off the submarine. Horace took an interest in me. He said it was okay I never talked, that I would when I had something to say. My father went to check us in. I remember standing around, then hearing a girl's voice. She was the first kid I had seen all day. She said her name was Annie, and offered me a candy bar." Ben sighed. "My father was mad; his assignment was 'work man'. He said we were leaving, and as we left, I looked over my shoulder at your mother, and I hoped that I'd see her again. And I did," He added.

"So that was basically the only thing that had happened in your life so far that didn't suck," Benji murmured, barely awake.

"Yes, it was," Ben said.

He smoothed out the almost-asleep Benji's facecloth. It was only a matter of seconds before Ben himself was asleep.

"Benji bunny, it's time to get up."

Benji opened his eyes. His mother was standing over him. His father was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

"I've got you a doctor appointment at ten, that's in an hour, so we should be ready to leave in half an hour." Annie picked up the thermometer. "I want to see if your fever's come down at all."

She stuck the thermometer in his ear. Benji, once again, winced. It beeped. "One-hundred three point seven," Annie read off the thermometer. "Wow, I don't think you've ever had a fever that high. How do you feel?"

Benji gave her a how-do-you-think-I-feel look. "Well, both my ears hurt, my head hurts, my throat hurts, I have a fever of one-hundred three point seven…"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Well, here, take some medicine, have some juice, and I'll make you toast."

Ben popped a piece of bread into the toaster. "You go take a shower. I'll handle things," He said to Annie.

Annie went to take her shower. Ben brought Benji the toast, as well as a glass of juice. Ben placed two small orange pills on the toast, then presented it with a flourish. Benji smiled weakly, then swallowed the pills with a gulp of juice.

Half an hour later, Benji and Annie scurried out the door. Annie ran back to give Ben a kiss.

When Annie and Benji returned an hour and a half later, Ben was sprawled out on the couch, an open bottle of Aspirin on the table.

"Not you too!" Annie exclaimed.

Next chapter: More of Ben's life story.


End file.
